Background:
Rituximab is a chimeric monoclonal anti-CD20 B-cell-depleting antibody increasingly used off-label in multiple sclerosis (MS). The clinical relevance of anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) ...against rituximab in MS is unknown.
Objective:
To determine frequency of ADA in relation to B-cell counts, allergic reactions and clinical efficacy in a large cohort of MS-treated patients.
Methods:
Cross-sectional study with collection of serum samples from 339 MS patients immediately before a scheduled rituximab infusion. ADAs were detected using an in-house–validated electrochemiluminescent immunoassay and a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to compare methods. Data on patient demographics and clinical outcomes were retrieved from the Swedish MS Registry and patient records.
Results:
ADAs were detected in 37% of relapsing–remitting MS and 26% in progressive forms of MS. Presence of ADAs decreased with increasing number of rituximab infusions. There was a significant association between both presence and titres of ADAs and incomplete B-cell depletion, but not with infusion/adverse reactions or clinical outcomes at the group level. Only five patients terminated rituximab during follow-up, four of which were ADA positive.
Conclusion:
Rituximab treatment is associated with a high degree of ADAs, which correlates with efficacy of B-cell depletion; however, the clinical relevance of ADAs remains uncertain.
IMPORTANCE: Smoking tobacco is a well-established risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system usually characterized by bouts and remissions ...and typically followed by a secondary progressive (SP) course. However, it is not clear whether smoking after diagnosis is detrimental. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether smoking after MS diagnosis is associated with a change in time to SP disease. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional study of patients with prevalent MS who smoked at diagnosis (n = 728) taken from the Genes and Environment in Multiple Sclerosis Study, which consists of patients from the Swedish National MS Registry. The study entrance date was at time of first-year smoking. The study was conducted between November 2008 and December 2011, with patient environmental data collected from November 2009 to March 2011 via questionnaire. Study participants were from all counties in Sweden diagnosed as having MS at the time of the Genes and Environment in Multiple Sclerosis Study and registered in the Swedish National MS Registry. Patients with MS with relapsing-remitting disease course or SP were included. These patients’ conditions were diagnosed according to the McDonald criteria and the patients responded to recruitment letters with detailed questionnaires. EXPOSURE: Smoking, considered yearly after diagnosis and combined into a time-invariant covariate before diagnosis. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Time to SPMS, measured using an accelerated failure time model, with smoking as a time-varying covariate. Other covariates included sex, age at diagnosis, snuff use, and smoking before diagnosis. RESULTS: The optimized model illustrated that each additional year of smoking after diagnosis accelerated the time to conversion to SPMS by 4.7% (acceleration factor, 1.047; 95% CI, 1.023-1.072; P < .001). Kaplan-Meier plots demonstrated that those who continued to smoke continuously each year after diagnosis converted to SPMS faster than those who quit smoking, reaching SP disease at 48 and 56 years of age, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This study provides evidence that continued smoking is associated with an acceleration in time to SPMS and that those who quit fare better. Therefore, we propose that patients with MS should be advised to stop smoking once a diagnosis has been made, not only to lessen risks for comorbidities, but also to avoid aggravating MS-related disability.
Background:
In multiple sclerosis (MS), various aspects of cognitive function can be detrimentally affected, thus patients’ employment and social functioning is commonly impacted.
Objective:
To ...analyse income among MS patients in relation to cognitive function, assessed with the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT).
Methods:
A cross-sectional study including 2080 MS patients was conducted linking national register-based data. Descriptive statistics and a two-part model were used to estimate differences in earnings and social benefits.
Results:
MS patients in the highest SDMT score quartile earned more than twice annually compared to patients in the lowest quartile, whereas patients in the lowest quartile received three times more income through social benefits. The difference in earnings and benefits across the SDMT performance quartiles remained statistically significant after adjusting for various clinical and socio-demographic variables, including physical disability. The corrected prevalence ratios for MS patients in the highest quartile for having income from earnings and benefits were 1.40 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.29–1.49) and 0.81 (95% CI: 0.71–0.90), respectively, when compared to the patients in the lowest quartile.
Conclusion:
Cognitive function affects the financial situation of MS patients negatively and independently of physical disability. This warrants cognitive testing as a routine measure in health care services for MS patients.
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with immunoglobulin gamma (IgG) oligoclonal bands (OCB) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) have different genetic backgrounds and brain MRI features compared ...to those without. In this study, we aimed to determine whether CSF-OCB status is associated with long-term disability outcomes. We used Swedish MS register data on clinically definite MS patients with known OCB status. Date of birth, age at MS onset, and time to sustained Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) milestones 3, 4, and 6; time to conversion to secondary progressive (SP) MS, sex, and immunomodulatory treatment (IMTs) duration were collected. Multivariate Cox regression models were used to investigate the association between OCB status and risk of reaching each milestone. The OCB-positive group reached disability milestones at an earlier time and younger age. OCB-positivity significantly increased the risk of reaching EDSS 3.0 (HR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.48, P < 0.001) and 4.0 (HR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.17 to 1.63, P < 0.001). The OCB-positive group had a 20% higher risk of conversion to SPMS. CSF-OCB presence is associated with higher risk of reaching EDSS milestones and conversion to SPMS. Our findings suggest higher disease modifying effect of OCB presence in the early inflammatory stages of MS
.
Depression is common in multiple sclerosis (MS); however, the underlying mechanism for the relationship remains unknown. In this study, we examined a putative causal relationship between depression ...and MS using a bidirectional Mendelian randomisation (MR) framework. Using the latest genome-wide association study data available, 168 non–major histocompatibility complex (MHC) independent variants associated with MS and 96 independent genetic variants associated with depression susceptibility were used. Maximum likelihood, weighted median, inverse variance weighted method and MR-Egger regression analyses were performed. There was no significant risk for the development of MS in persons carrying variants associated with depression or for risk of depression in individuals who are genetically susceptible to MS.
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to identify factors influencing the long-term clinical progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). A special objective was to investigate whether early treatment ...decisions influence outcome.
Methods:
We included 639 patients diagnosed with MS from 2001 to 2007. The median follow-up time was 99 months (8.25 years). Cox regression models were applied to identify factors correlating with the outcome variable defined as time from treatment start to irreversible score 4 of the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS).
Results:
Patients initiated on treatment later had a greater risk of reaching EDSS 4 (hazard ratio of 1.074 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.048−1.101)), increased by 7.4% for every year of delay in treatment start after MS onset. Patients who started treatment after 3 years from MS onset reached the outcome sooner with hazard ratio of 2.64 (95% CI, 1.71−4.08) compared with the patients who started treatment within 1 year from MS onset. Baseline EDSS and age at onset were found to be predictive factors of disability progression.
Conclusion:
Early treatment initiation was associated with a better clinical outcome. In addition, we confirmed the well-established prognostic factors of late age at onset and early disability.
Cigarette smoking is the most prominent significant cause of death and morbidity. It is recognised as a risk factor for a number of immune mediated, inflammatory diseases including multiple sclerosis ...(MS). Here, we review the complex immunological effects of smoking on the immune system, which include enhancement of inflammatory responses with a parallel reduction of some immune defences, resulting in an increased susceptibility to infection and a persistent proinflammatory environment.
We discuss the effect of smoking on the susceptibility, clinical course, disability, and mortality in MS, the likely benefits of smoking cessation, and the specific immunological effects of smoking in MS.
In conclusion, smoking is an important environmental risk factor for MS occurrence and outcome, and it acts in significant part through immunological mechanisms.
•Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for the development, severity, progression, and early death in multiple sclerosis.•Many of Its can be explained in significant part by the immunological, proinflammatory effects of smoking.•Components of tobacco smoke other than nicotine are likely to be the strongest enhancers of the inflammatory response.•Smoking cessation, even after MS onset, is an effective lifestyle modification that can reduce disability progression.
Blood Neurofilament light chain (NfL) has been suggested as a promising biomarker in several neurological conditions. Since blood NfL is the consequence of leaked NfL from the cerebrospinal fluid, ...differences in individuals’ Body Mass Index (BMI) or blood volume (BV) might affect its correlation to other biomarkers and disease outcomes. Here, we investigated the correlation between plasma NfL, BMI, and BV in 662 controls and 2,586 multiple sclerosis cases. We found a significant negative correlation between plasma NfL, BMI/BV in both groups. Our results highlight the potential confounding effect of BMI/BV on associations between blood NfL and disease outcomes.
Objectives:
We aimed at designing a nomogram, a prediction tool, to predict the individual’s risk of conversion to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) at the time of multiple sclerosis ...(MS) onset.
Methods:
One derivation and three validation cohorts were established. The derivation cohort included 8825 relapsing-onset MS patients in Sweden. A nomogram was built based on a survival model with the best statistical fit and prediction accuracy. The nomogram was validated using data from 3967 patients in the British Columbia cohort, 176 patients in the ACROSS and 2355 patients in FREEDOMS/FREEDOMS II extension studies.
Results:
Sex, calendar year of birth, first-recorded Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score, age at the first EDSS and age at disease onset showed significant predictive ability to estimate the risk of SPMS conversion at 10, 15 and 20 years. The nomogram reached 84% (95% confidence intervals (CIs): 83–85) internal and 77% (95% CI: 76–78), 77% (95% CI: 70–85) and 87% (95% CI: 84–89) external accuracy.
Conclusions:
The SPMS nomogram represents a much-needed complementary tool designed to assist in decision-making and patient counselling in the early phase of MS. The SPMS nomogram may improve outcomes by prompting timely and more efficacious treatment for those with a worse prognosis.
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